As such their biology can be studied in more detail by looking at the fungal secretome under various circumstances and reconstructing ant infection and manipulation under controlled conditions 17. These Ophiocordyceps species can be isolated from their ant hosts and grown in vitro. Examples of this are wood ants, Formica, infected by Pandora (Phylum: Entomophthoromycota, Order Entomophthorales) 8– 10, and carpenter ants and spiny ants (tribe Camponotini, the genera Camponotus and Polyrhachis, respectively) infected by fungi of the genus Ophiocordyceps (Phylum: Ascomycota, Order Hypocreales) 11– 16. Prime examples of fungal manipulation of insect behavior are those where ants are manipulated to leave the nest and bite onto vegetation in elevated positions. ![]() Studies into the mechanisms underlying these manipulations may reveal the fungal neuromodulators that are secreted and the pathways that give rise to certain behaviors. The fungal parasites that adaptively manipulate the behavior of their insect hosts are particularly intriguing because such manipulation implies many interesting bioactive compounds are likely produced during infection 7. This imbalance is unfortunate given the many insights that could be gained from determining the mechanisms by which fungi invade and conquer their insect hosts. Despite this, fungal-insect associations remain understudied 6 in comparison to fungal parasites of plants. Many such interactions can be found with arthropods since they are the most diverse and dominant animals in all terrestrial ecosystems 4, and fungal parasites of insects (entomopathogens) can be found in all major phyla 5. Others can overcome the immune system and take advantage of the host to further transmission 3. Certain fungi have evolved to interact in mutualistic ways to provide the animal host with beneficial compounds 1, 2. From a medical perspective, this is especially true for fungi that interact with animals. Much can thus be gained from sequencing fungal genomes and discovering the enzymes and mechanisms they employ. A consequence of this broad niche space and the ability of fungi to secrete useful enzymes and bioactive compounds is their successful use in a wide variety of industries (e.g. Mutualistic and parasitic fungi evolved to intimately interact with their plant and animal hosts. Saprophytic fungi are crucial players in the carbon cycle. Our data indicate that specialized, secreted enterotoxins may play a major role in one of these strategies.įungi have evolved to occupy a wide variety of ecologically important niches. The independent co-evolution between these manipulating parasites and their respective hosts might thus have led to rather diverse strategies to alter behavior. Moreover, secondary metabolite clusters, activated during biting behavior, appeared conserved within a species complex, but not beyond. This is further supported by a relatively fast evolution of previously reported candidate manipulation genes associated with biting behavior. However, few of those proteins were conserved among them, suggesting that several different methods of behavior modification have evolved. A considerable number of (small) secreted and pathogenicity-related proteins were only found in these ant-manipulating Ophiocordyceps species, and not in other ascomycetes. These species were collected across three continents, from five different ant species in which they induce different levels of manipulation. To gain more insight into their strategies, we compared the genomes of five ant-infecting Ophiocordyceps species from three species complexes. Especially intriguing are fungal parasites that manipulate insect behavior because, presumably, they secrete a wealth of bioactive compounds. Much can be gained from revealing the mechanisms fungal entomopathogens employ.
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